Human Shield
by Little Writer Babe
Summary: Set sometime after 2x19. Alex Danvers gets hurt once more protecting her "super" little sister, Kara. She doesn't think much of it, simply another instance of her doing what she's been conditioned to do, protect Kara at all costs. Her girlfriend, however, has some strong feelings about Alex self-destructive behavior and she knows EXACTLY where to place the blame!
1. Danvers Down

Where was she? Dammit, where was she?

The pounding of her boots on wet concrete seemed unnaturally loud to Alex but she could barely hear it past the roar in her own ears. She was unprepared for how quickly the opp had gone sideways; the stunning speed with which Cadmus had gained the upper hand. She cleared a hallway to her left, Vasquez on her six, clearing the one to her right. No words were exchanged between the women, they'd done this countless times before, dragged their selves home bloody but unbeaten.

Today would be one of those days.

"Supergirl?" She whispered loudly into her comm with no results. "Kara?!" She tried again, panic seeping through.

"I found her, Alex!"

"What? No! Kara _fall_ _back_! Do not engage! Do you hear me?"

The static that she received in response put the agent into a full out run, Vasquez hot on her hells. They continued to clear dark corner after dark corner but there was sloppiness to their procedures because Kara was being reckless and Lillian Luthor had no issues with killing the girl on sight. Alex heard yelling up ahead and doubled her speed. It felt like an eternity before she had a visual on her sister, foolishly facing Luthor down with no one to cover her back.

Alex rushed toward Kara, eyes constantly tracking the shadows for movement. Damn Cadmus and their shadowy, warehouse bases. An attack could come from literally _anywhere_ and the rest of her team were still two levels above them fighting off some abomination that the mad scientist had whipped up just for them.

Neither Kara, nor Lillian had noticed them yet. Vasquez tapped her twice on the shoulder and Alex followed the signal, sliding seamlessly behind a shipping container, back to back with the other agent.

"It's _over,_ Lillian! This whole base is swarming with agents, there's no escape." Kara declared in her most authoritative voice but the older woman only laughed scornfully in return.

"Who says I _want_ to escape?"

Alex heard the warning in the woman's voice and she moved toward Kara without hesitation, just as the shot rang out from somewhere above them. The projectile slammed into her and she into Kara, knocking the hero to the ground.

" **ALEX**!" She heard her sister scream, voice raw with terror.

Luthor disappeared in the confusion and Vasquez was on them in a heartbeat, rolling Alex over and hissing loudly when she observed the damage. The elder Danvers didn't need the woman to tell her how bad it was. The left side of her tactical suit was already slick with blood and she could see a piece of bone jutting from her ruined shoulder. Alex choked on a sob as the pain burned through her, dulling all other thoughts. Kara moved to apply pressure but yelped and pulled back, her skin burning from the contact.

 _Kryptonite_. The bullet had been made of kryptonite.

"Kara... _don't_... get away..." she gasped weakly, the fight leaving her quickly. _Too quickly_.

Her sister shook her head hard, tears streaming down her face. Kara quickly removed her cape, tore it into one strip wide enough to cover her hand and shoved the rest against her sister's wound. She grimaced but refused to let go. Alex could feel Vasquez securing the makeshift bandage, preparing her for flight.

"No... Kara... you _can't_... its kryptonite," Alex protested weakly as her sister pulled her into arms and stood on shaky legs. "You can't... fly... not like this..."

"I'm not gonna lose you." Was all Kara replied and Alex immediately passed out as her sister took unsteadily to the air.

* * *

Shattered collarbone, partially collapsed lung, **TEN** hours of surgery including bone grafts... the list of damage was extensive as it was terrifying.

" _Damn it, Danvers_..." Maggie muttered to herself as she held Alex uninjured hand in hers.

This was becoming too common a scene for Maggie and she wasn't sure how many more times she could do _this_. How many more times she could sit at Alex side while the agent fought for her life. How many more times she could look at Kara, covered in her sister's blood and not resent the blonde for failing to protect her. She leaned closer to Alex, pressing her nose against the woman's shoulder, seeking the warmth and security that only the other woman could provide.

Maggie's heart had stopped when she saw Kara stumbling toward the med-bay, Alex limp and bleeding in her arms. The entire left side of Alex's tactical uniform was drenched in red; it stained her skin, seeped through Kara's suit. The blonde had barely been able to lay her sister down on a gurney before she collapsed to her knees, hands sliding down the wall, leaving a bloody trail in her wake. The sickly green glow emanating from her girlfriend's wound told the detective all she needed to know.

 _Of course,_ it had been kryptonite. Cadmus synthesized the deadly element by the truckload, _always_ ready for the girl of steel, _always_ foiled by her human shield.

A _shield_. That's what Alex had been reduced to and it filled Maggie with a boiling hatred.

The detective had seen her fair share of gunshot wounds but _this_ _one_ ; this one had made her sick to her stomach. It had torn through the body she loved, the body she worshiped and cherished. Ripped Alex apart like tissue paper. The bullet had been designed to kill a kryptonian; no human could stand before that. But Alex _had_ ; knowing exactly what it could do, knowing she might not come out the other side.

Kara had been rushed to the sun-room immediately, the deadly poison making her weaker by the second. Her left palm was mangled with chemical burns from where she had placed pressure on her sister's wound, only a makeshift bandage to protect her. Maggie glanced across the hall and she could see Kara, still clad in her bloody super suit, left hand swathed in gauze, lying just as still as her sibling. She too was hooked up to monitors; her ventilator had been removed just an hour after the incident when she had begun to breathe on her own.

Alex on the other hand lay in a medically induced coma, unable to wake until her pain could be brought into manageable levels, until she could draw breath on her own. Her face was so pale, Maggie had to keep some sort of skin-to-skin contact to ensure she was alive, watch her chest intently, barely comforted by the rise and fall. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep until a gentle hand touched her shoulder.

"Maggie?"

She rubbed her face roughly and turned to find J'onn standing over her, his face tight with concern.

"I'll sit with her. Go get some rest."

"J'onn, I _can't_..." she whispered on the verge of tears. " I can't leave her..."

" _Hey_ ," he quickly knelt beside her, a comforting hand on her knee. "We can't take care of her if we don't take care of ourselves, right?"

Maggie nodded sullenly, knowing he had a point but unwilling to leave all the same. She knew J'onn had read her thoughts because he replied, "You don't have to go home. There are a few beds next door that aren't in use. Take one; _rest_ , if only for an hour, then you can come back. I won't leave until you do."

The detective nodded once more, then leaned over Alex, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead before exiting. She passed Kara's room but couldn't bring herself to go in, her anger forcing her to pass with barely a glance. This was _her fault_ , she hadn't followed her sister's lead and they had both been the poorer for it. Maggie flopped down on the bed, hot tears burning her face and was asleep before she had a chance to pull back the blankets.

* * *

Maggie entered the command center of the DEO to pick her girlfriend up for the night, to find that Alex was _still_ working; furiously typing away on her tablet, oblivious to the world.

It was especially impressive because the agent was doing so with _one_ _hand,_ her non-dominant one at that. Alex had beamed with pride when she informed her girlfriend that in anticipation of such an injury, she had trained herself to use both hands equally, her right functioning just as well as her dominant left. The detective, on the other hand ( _poor word choice_ ), had been horrified that her girlfriend lived in a world where such training was a necessity.

It shouldn't have surprised Maggie that just two months after a devastating injury, Alex was back on duty, the sling immobilizing her left arm blending seamlessly into her uniform. She cleared her throat and shot Alex a pointed look when the agent finally glanced up.

"Maggie? Hey. Oh crap! It's seven already?"

The agent looked noticeably guilty because she had _promised_ her girlfriend, after an intense argument about her returning to work so soon, that she would remain in her lab, work _much_ shorter days and stay _out_ of the command center.

"Yep." Maggie popped the 'p' at the end of the word. " You are _so_ busted, Danvers."

Alex took in her girlfriend's stoic expression and sighed. She knew _exactly_ why Maggie was upset but it wasn't her fault. There had been a crisis and J'onn had gotten called away, Kara was stuck at CatCo and Winn couldn't perform all the necessary calculations alone. She told Maggie all of it and noted that it didn't make a lick of difference.

"There's _always_ a crisis, Alex. It's the goddamn DEO! All you _do_ here is crisis. But you promised me."

"I know." Alex replied, glad the command center was fairly uninhabited while her girlfriend ripped her a new one. "And I know you worry, but I'm _fine_."

Maggie stared at her with such a look of raw vulnerability that it took Alex breath away.

"You're fine, huh?" She asked on the verge of tears. "Is 'fine' spending weeks on a ventilator with a collapsed lung? Is 'fine' having six titanium screws holding your shattered bones together? Is 'fine' throwing yourself in front of someone who should be able to take care of herself? Is all of that 'fine', Alex?"

"Maggie..."

" _Whatever_. I'll be in the car."

Alex watched her go with tears in her eyes. She knew this latest incident had been a close call, knew she had been in rough shape for some time, so much so that her mother had even come to National City in case things took a turn for the worse.

Had known Kara refused to go on patrol until Alex was stable, her every sense tuned to her sister.

But she hadn't stopped to realize how difficult it had been on Maggie. How hard it must be for her to know that Alex would do it all again if she had to, that Kara's safety would _always_ be her first priority.

"I'm sorry..." Alex whispered to her retreating form, not sure how to mend the rift between them.

* * *

The rest of the night was spent in tense silence, the two women mechanically going through their nightly routine. Maggie helped Alex shower, changed her bandages and both slipped into pajamas before the pair sat down silently for dinner. Alex pushed her food around the plate, appetite lost as she watched the sadness pulling at Maggie's whole being.

"Maggie..." she tried to draw her attention, speaking quietly. The other woman glanced up surprised to be addressed. She studied Alex for a moment before she rushed over to the kitchen.

"Oh, _right_! I forgot your pills and you need to take them with food..." she trailed off as she filled a glass of water at the sink, hands trembling. Alex was out of her seat faster than Maggie.

"Hey! Maggie, _stop_." She gently took the glass from Maggie's hands and set it down before cupping her cheek softly. "What you said earlier..."

"Why?" Maggie demanded, pulling away from her.

"Mags, I don't..."

" _Why_ don't you get it? _Why_ don't you know how important you are? To _me_? When you jumped in front of that bullet did you even think of what it would do to _me_ if I lost you?"

Alex hadn't thought about it; hadn't thought of anything except how that bullet had to be intercepted. How she couldn't let it reach Kara. Couldn't fail at her life's mission, even if it meant she'd die to do so. But now she had someone else to live for and she needed Maggie to know how important she was, to _her_.

"You're _right_. I didn't think, I just reacted. But you have to know... if it had been _you_... I would have done the _same_. You mean the _world_ to me, I love you, and I'm sorry that this has hurt you so much; sorry that I didn't see it sooner."

Maggie deflated at the taller woman's words. She wasn't really mad at Alex. She was just... _angry_. There was so much violence and pain in their lives and it seemed as if there was no end in sight.

"Alex..." she began but was cut off by a gust of wind from the window. When she saw Kara standing in front of her, suddenly her anger had a focus. " ** _YOU_**."

Kara stood in their living room, clad in her super suit with a slightly confused expression. "Uh, yeah, it's me. Do you have a lot of people coming through your windows these days?" she tried to joke lightly, noting the fury on the detective's face.

"Mags," Alex stepped forward to separate the two women, sensing the coming conflict but Maggie shook her off.

"It's _always_ you." Maggie accused, glaring at Kara. "You _act_ like you love her but you let her get hurt, time and time again. And then you fly in here, pretend like nothing has happened, like your sister didn't just almost die for you _again_! You don't _look_ before you leap. And every time you rush in, she comes back with _another_ bruise, _another_ scar, _another_ reminder of her love for you that she has to carry. You can't keep using her like a human shield! I won't let you."

The apartment was filled with a tense silence the moment Maggie stopped speaking. Neither sister knew what to say in the wake of the detective's allegations. Alex stared at her girlfriend aghast. How long had Maggie been keeping this in? The agent had noticed Maggie was less affectionate with her sister since her injury, a little less friendly, a little less happy to see her each time Kara popped in unannounced. But Alex had never stopped to think that maybe her girlfriend blamed her sister for all the hard knocks she took. Apparently, Kara hadn't guessed either.

"You think I don't _care_?" Kara's voice cut through the thick silence, the young hero on the verge of tears herself. "You think I don't replay it in my head _over and over,_ each time she gets hurt? Think of all the ways I could have been better, could have protected her like you think I should? Like _I_ think I should? I have every scar _memorized_. Every one. Because Alex carries those scars on her body but I carry them on my _heart_."

Alex had known all of this; had known the heavy guilt her little sister carried, blaming herself every time the elder sibling bled in her defense. She supposed it was now time for Maggie to know as well.

There were tears rolling freely down Kara's cheeks as she stood toe to toe with Maggie, daring the woman to doubt her devotion; daring her to doubt how deeply she loved her sibling. Maggie's lips trembled and her frame shook before she fell into the hero's arms, gripping Kara like a lifeline. The youngest Danvers reached a searching hand out to Alex and tugged her into the embrace, mindful of the agent's most current scar, her most current testimony to the love of her sister.

"I'm sorry..." Maggie whimpered, hugging the two women tighter.

"Don't you _ever_ apologize for loving my sister!" Kara chastised her with a watery smile. "But, please, just talk to us next time?" Maggie nodded, burying her face in Alex chest, lightly kissing the bandage over her collarbone. Alex finally spoke, having heard the heartfelt expressions of both women.

"I know this is hard, Mags and _scary_. It's scary for me too because before you I only had Kara to worry about, thought she would be the only person who missed me. But now I know better. So _please_ baby, don't shut me out?"

"Never, Danvers."

The trio ended the night with tears and hugs and more tears before they eventually settled on the couch, Alex dozing between her two favorite people, finally able to sleep now that everything was out in the open. Maggie glanced over her girlfriend's head to find Kara staring intently at Alex' newest bandage, x-raying the injury beneath. Her brows were knitted in concentration, sadness pulling at her lips. Maggie reached up and lightly poked the skin between Kara's eyes.

" _Crinkle_." She whispered with a small smile and Kara beamed in return, relieved that even though they were all still healing, they were finally on the right path.


	2. Her Knight

The morning after their emotional revelations found Alex still happily smushed between Maggie and Kara, her back pressed against the former and her legs strewn across the latter. Eventually, all three stirred and Kara left to change into a less-obvious ensemble, promising to return with coffee and donuts, while Maggie dragged Alex to the bathroom to change her bandages and help her ready for the day. When Maggie slipped out to grab the extra gauze she had left on the kitchen table, her girlfriend took the opportunity to do a quick self-examination.

Dropping her rumpled tank on the floor, clad only in her sweats, Alex stood in the dim light of the bathroom. Her eyes roamed over her unclothed torso, silently cataloging the damage done to her body; fingers gently skimming her newest scars, still red and inflamed. She gently traced the long line of stitches just beneath her collarbone, felt the unnatural forms of the screws just under the skin.

Staring into the mirror, her eyes settled on a puckered area, just left of the stitches; the entry point. She turned around slowly to inspect the scars along her back before they again settled on another area of acute redness. The exit wound stood out angrily against her pale skin in contrast to all the older, faded scars she had collected over the years. She faced the mirror once more, expression steely, hands gripping the counter almost painfully.

 _Worth it._ She thought ruefully. _To protect the people I love, it's always worth it._

A warm hand on her hip startled her out of her reverie. She glanced over her shoulder to see Maggie standing there with a box of gauze and tape, ready to change her bandages, something she had gotten quite good at since they began dating.

"You okay?" She asked quietly.

Alex nodded but couldn't tear her eyes away from the mirror. Maggie set her supplies aside before moving behind her, wrapping her strong arms around the taller woman's waist. She placed a gentle kiss against Alex bare shoulder and nuzzled closer. The moment was intimate and warm, with only Maggie's thin sports bra between them, Alex sinking into the security of Maggie's embrace.

"I love them." The shorter woman murmured against her skin, knowing exactly what Alex was fixating on. " _All_ of them."

"Why?" She asked in a voice so small, it tore at Maggie's heart.

"Because they're a part of _you._ I don't think there's anything about you that I couldn't love. Each scar marks a time when you did the unimaginable, when you were willing to lay down your life for someone else. How could I _not_ love that?"

Maggie's voice was so soft, so reverential, so full of love that Alex could hardly believe someone felt that way about _her._ That she didn't see her as "damaged goods". She couldn't stop the grateful tears that rushed down her cheeks.

"Oh, baby!" Maggie spun her around and Alex tucked her face into the shorter woman's neck, clinging to her with her good arm, while Maggie rubbed soothing circles on her bare back.

"I lo-love you," she managed to stammer.

"Getting soft on me Danvers?" She clucked, gently pushing Alex back so she could see her face, dry her tears. "Cuz I'm definitely soft on you!"

She punctuated the statement with a kiss to Alex's nose before guiding her to sit on the edge of the tub so she could bandage her up again. Maggie expertly went to work placing gauze and lining the edges with tape, always mindful to be gentle. Alex watched her work with a renewed sense of awe.

"You're pretty good at that." She told her, voice still slightly choked with emotion. "Ever thought about a medical career?" Maggie pulled a face before responding.

"We can't _both_ be doctors, Danvers. What do you think this is, _Grey's Anatomy_ or something? Besides, I'm a more shoot and punch type, than stitch and bandage."

Alex gave a small laugh at that, wincing slightly when she pulled her side too far. "I guess you're right. Besides, I wouldn't want all those young interns fawning over my hot girlfriend."

"You think I'm _hot_ , Danvers?" She asked, looking up at Alex with a lopsided smile.

"Smokin'." She replied, smile wide and bright.

Maggie shook her head and muttered "nerd" before having Alex turn so she could treat the exit wound on her back. It was still healing and the center held an irritated pink hue that told Maggie it was incredibly sensitive. The detective took special care when dressing the area before declaring herself done. She knelt before Alex and noted how her girlfriend seemed to move much more gingerly than she had the night before.

"Sore, today?" She asked, cupping Alex chin gently. When she received a shaky nod in response, she tsked. "Probably wasn't the best idea to sleep on the couch last night."

"It was perfect. We _needed_ that." Alex objected. "All of us."

"We _did_." Maggie agreed begrudgingly. "But next breakdown, we immediately head to that ridiculous-sized bed of yours! Wanna stretch?"

"Not really..." Alex hedged but knew she would have no choice in the matter once Maggie stood and pulled her injured arm gently into position, settling it lightly on her hip.

"Ready?" She waited for Alex to scoot forward. Placing her head against Maggie's abdomen, Alex nodded shakily, forehead skimming her girlfriends exposed abs. "Okay, just relax."

"Easy for you to say..." Alex grumbled as Maggie began to push her hip firmly against her arm, stretching the tight muscles a little more each time she pulled back until the agent finally let out a sharp hiss. Maggie immediately pulled back.

"That sounded like it hurt, we should stop..."

"No, it's okay." Alex mumbled, head still bowed. "I can take it."

"Just a few more, okay?"

"Kay."

Maggie continued cycling through the various stretches Alex physical therapist had taught her, occasionally pausing to gauge the agents pain-levels. After a few minutes, she heard Alex murmur "harder". Maggie frowned at the request but Alex was oblivious, waiting patiently for the torture to continue. The stretching resumed moments later, the small detective adding a little more force, a little more pressure to each stretch. When a particularly difficult stretch had Alex crying out in discomfort, Maggie immediately reversed the movement and fell to her knees.

"Hey! Hey! I'm sorry! You okay?"

Alex nodded, trying desperately to catch her breath, to breathe through the pain that was now pulsing throughout her left side. She tried to tell Maggie she was okay, that she hadn't actually hurt her, that it wasn't _that_ bad but she was having trouble forming the words.

"Babe, you're scaring me..." Maggie told her quietly, startled by the small whimpers Alex was emitting, the sweat beading along her hairline and the way she cradled her arm tightly against her chest.

The sound of the door closing in the other room pulled Maggie's attention from Alex, momentarily. "Kara?" she called out.

"Yeah, where are you guys? I brought coffee and donuts, even some vegan ones..."

"We're in the bathroom. Can you please bring me Alex sling and her pills?"

The request sent Kara into a panic, had her gathering the items before Maggie's words fully registered. She sped into the bathroom to find Alex sitting precariously on the edge of the tub looking shockingly pale, her good arm gripping Maggie's tightly as the detective tried to wiggle her NCPD hoodie around Alex bare torso. She was finally able to zip it and she and Kara wordlessly maneuvered Alex into her sling and over to a less precarious perch on the closed toilet seat.

"What happened?" Kara asked, gently pulling Alex into her side and running her fingers softly through her sister's hair. She immediately noticed that Alex was flushed, her eyes squeezed shut in an effort to combat the pain.

"She was pretty sore from last night so we were going through her stretches and I thought she was in pain but she told me to keep going..."

"Maggie." Alex voice rough with pain cut her off. "It's not your fault. I'm...I'm okay, now."

Neither woman seemed convinced, as Alex had relayed all this without opening her eyes or lifting her head from Kara's side. Kara and Maggie shared a concerned look before the detective's small features set in determination.

" _Alex_ ," she breathed in irritation. "You can't keep pushing yourself this hard. I know you want to get better so you can go kick some alien ass but these things take time. That was a hell of a spill you took and I don't care how well you type with one hand, you still need to take things slow. Okay?"

"I need to be out there, Maggie." Alex retorted, eyes now open and flashing with anger.

"Lexie, _please_..." Kara tried. She only ever used the nickname when she was truly afraid and right now her big sister was scaring them both. "I don't want you rushing things just because you think you have to. I want you to heal, the _right_ way."

"And whose watching your back while I sit here being _useless_? How can I protect you if I can't even _shower_ by myself?!"

Alex was fuming and she was spiraling because here she was, failing _again_.

Yes, she had saved Kara from that kryptonite bullet but who would _keep_ protecting her while Alex tried to put her damaged body back together, while her bones knit and her muscles healed?

Looking out for Kara was a full-time job; one Alex couldn't afford to be laid up from.

Before she knew it, she was sobbing and she was panicking and somehow she ended up in the strong arms of her baby sister, nose buried in the soft cashmere of her sweater. Kara moved them from the tight confines of the bathroom to the open living space, making a beeline for the couch where their rumpled blankets from the night before still lay. She flopped down on the couch, keeping Alex draped across her lap as she desperately tried to soothe her. Maggie hovered nearby, worried and confused, because Alex had been so strong throughout this whole process and now her insecurities were on full display. The detective could have kicked herself.

She _knew_ the kind of pressure Alex had been under as a kid with a new, weird alien sister, _knew_ the pressure Alex put on herself to achieve a level of perfection that bordered on the obsessive. Maggie had been impressed with how far Alex recovery had progressed in a few short weeks but for Alex it hadn't been _enough._ Would it ever be enough?

Alex sobs from the couch had quieted and she was huddled against Kara, body sagging with exhaustion. Maggie stepped into the bedroom quickly and grabbed her phone off the nightstand. Within a few minutes she had called both J'onn and her captain requesting a sick day. The Martian had offered to send the DEO physician to the apartment to check Alex out and Maggie had readily agreed, not wishing to take any chances with her girlfriend's health. When she made her way back into the living room, Alex was sitting up on the couch; head leaned onto Kara's shoulder. The detective approached and knelt before them.

"Hey, baby," she spoke softly, putting as much love into her words as she could. "We're gonna stay home today so you can rest up. The DEO doc is gonna stop by a little later, too, just to make sure that everything's okay. How does that sound?"

"It's fine, even though I _am_ a doctor." She sighed, finally meeting Maggie's eyes. "Sorry, I'm such a mess."

"Are you kidding me?" Maggie tried to inject some levity into her voice. " _We_ had our breakdown last night, it's only fair."

She was relieved when both sisters cracked small smiles at her attempt at humor. "Nerd." Alex scoffed but Maggie could see some of the weight lifting off her shoulders.

"You know that no matter what we're here for you right?" she asked, cupping Alex hand between hers.

"I know. And I know you'll look out for each other, too. I just _hate_ not being able to be there for you."

"Don't worry about that. You can't be everywhere Lexie and we don't expect you to." Kara chimed in. "We just want you to take care of yourself and you're _still_ pretty badass, even with a sling!"

"It's true, Danvers!" Maggie added with a wide smile. "We both know you only need one finger to do some _real_ damage."

After some well-deserved laughs interspersed with coffee and doughnuts, Doctor Hamilton was knocking on Alex's door, medical bag and irritated expression in place. Alex Danvers was her worst nightmare, being simultaneously the most talented and the most reckless agent that had _ever_ come through the DEO. Maggie was surprised to realize she had never asked the woman's name before, even though they'd had multiple conversations over the months about Alex' various injuries.

While Hamilton gave Alex the once over, Kara called in to CatCo, telling Snapper she'd had a family emergency and would be working from home at least for the next couple days. Maggie took the opportunity to freshen up and by the time she returned Hamilton was packing up her bag, prescribing Alex bed rest for the next forty-eight hours and a slew of anti-inflammatories and pain meds. Maggie walked her out, apologizing for the house call before heading back into the living room. There she found Alex nearly asleep on the couch, legs stretched across Kara's, tucked under her favorite periodic table blanket. Kara had her feet propped up on the coffee table, furiously typing, laptop balanced precariously in her lap in order not to disturb her sister.

"All good?" she asked Kara quietly, tucking the blanket more securely around Alex.

"Yep." Kara smiled brightly, barely glancing up from her laptop.

"I think I might run down to the gym, burn off some _frustration_."

"Kay." Kara chirped in affirmative, eyes still glued to her screen. "We're not going anywhere. Alex is on some _serious_ painkillers."

Maggie bent and pressed a gentle kiss to Alex temple. "I'll be back soon." She told her and Alex hummed sleepily in response making Maggie chuckle. "What _is_ she on?"

"I don't know but the DEO keeps some _pretty good_ meds on hand. She'll sleep for a while. Take your time."

"Thanks, Little Danvers."

"Anytime, _Detective Dimples_." Maggie pulled a face at the nickname but laughed nonetheless.

"Hey Kara... about last night..."

"Nothing more to say." The younger Danvers cut her off. "Alex may think she's _my_ shield but _you're_ her knight in shining armor."

Maggie did her best to hide the embarrassed blush that raced to her cheeks as she gathered her gym bag. She hustled out into the hallway before Kara could make her blush any harder. Even so, she found that she didn't mind the idea all that much. She loved Alex and her little sister and would slay any dragons she needed to in order to protect her two fair maidens.

Yes, Alex may be the shield, but _she_ would be her strength.


	3. Mommy Dearest

Not long after Maggie left, the apartment calm and quiet, had Kara's phone begun buzzing across the living room table. She grabbed it quickly; worried the annoying noise would disturb her sleeping sibling. As the name flashed across the screen, Kara cringed inwardly. It was _Eliza_. How had her foster mother known there was a crisis? It seemed to be an inherent talent of mothers the galaxy around to call _exactly_ when their children _didn't_ want to talk. She knew if she didn't pick up, Alex's phone would surely be buzzing next and then Maggie's and James' and Winn's, until Eliza found _someone_ who would take her call.

Last time they ignored her calls she ended up raging to the switchboard operator at CatCo about how _trying_ it was for a mother to have _two_ daughters who refused to answer their phones, failing to recognize how deeply she worried for their safety. Cat had been understandably irritated that a distraught mother was holding her switchboard hostage and Kara had spent the next week hearing from _both_ women how inconsiderate she had been to ignore her mother's calls. As vexing as the whole experience had been for Kara, it had been exponentially worse for her sister.

It had _always_ been that way. Every inconvenience, every failure, and even every accident that somehow involved Kara was without fail made to be Alex's fault. It was a ridiculous amount of pressure to put on a fourteen year old, one who was already subject to unrealistic expectations. Alex took it in stride; murmuring apologies to her mother, school officials, and neighbors, whomever Kara had perturbed. Then she would spend long hours helping Kara with her homework after dinner, Eliza too busy with her own research, before she would finally go to her room and work through the night on her own assignments.

She never complained, not to Kara, because her sister had lost so much and Alex would be damned if she added to her sister's distress. She stopped complaining to Eliza early on because it was getting her nowhere, each conversation peppered with "I expect more from you Alexandra" and "You need to show her how to do it Alexandra" and "I was counting on you Alexandra, how could you let me down?" So Alex quickly learned not to complain, to keep her head down and her mouth shut. Kara had been too young to understand at the time but she felt a burning shame that as an adult she had done so little to protect her sibling from the one person who should have been protecting them.

That was going to end _now_ , she decided as she jabbed the button and stepped out onto the balcony.

"Eliza, this is a surprise. " She tried to smile as she said it, hoping it would inject some perkiness into her tone.

"Indeed it is. Far be it for you girls to answer the _first_ time I call." Eliza's tone was light but Kara still felt the sting of the admonition.

"You know how it is, we stay pretty busy with invasions, jailbreaks and other, uh... _alien stuff_."

"Of course. All classified I assume?"

"Yeah, sorry, can't share too many details."

"It's just as well, I suppose. Knowing all the dangerous situations Alexandra puts you in would only keep me up at night." Kara frowned when Eliza's words finally registered. This was her chance.

" _Alex_ doesn't get me into anything, Eliza. More like she's always there to get me out."

"You're still so protective of her, always defending her..."

"Because she deserves it!"

"Of course, dear." Her foster mother's tone was dismissive and Kara could feel her anger rising. "Where _is_ your sister? Off fighting some alien menace?"

"She's home today. We _both_ are."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Doctor Hamilton, our DEO doctor, wanted Alex to take a couple days off, she had some pretty bad inflammation and she was in a lot of pain."

"I see. You would think that Alexandra would recognize when she was pushing herself too hard. Perhaps she should have finished her medical degree after all?" Kara huffed in frustration.

 _Of course_ Alex had known what was wrong, she had diagnosed herself long before Hamilton had even arrived. _"I'm a doctor, too,"_ she had reminded the other woman as they argued over the best course to take. Eventually, Hamilton had acquiesced to Alex diagnosis and left with a huff because the agents medical expertise far surpassed her own. But apparently Eliza would only acknowledge her daughters medical degree if "m.d." followed the young woman's name. The "agent" in _front_ of her sister's name simply wasn't impressive enough.

"I can't do this with you right now..." Kara mumbled, struggling to keep her temper in check.

"Do what, Kara? Is everything all right?"

" _Seriously_?!" The young blonde exploded before lowering her voice knowing Alex wasn't so medicated that a shouting match wouldn't wake her.

"Kara Zor-El Danvers! To whom are you speaking young lady?"

"Who? _You_ , Eliza, I'm talking to _you_. I just told you that your _daughter_ , technically your only child, who took a kryptonite bullet for _me_ , is in ridiculous amounts of pain and you ask me 'is everything okay'?"

Eliza scoffed on the other end of the line sounding both offended and annoyed all at once. When she spoke again, it was in the clipped, detached tone that she usually reserved for her eldest daughter.

"Perhaps you should call me back when you're less... _emotional_?"

"No. I think this is the perfect time, Eliza and I am just the _right_ amount of emotional. Alex means the _world_ to me but you act like she's just another one of your experiments, something to be observed from afar but never engaged and certainly not _loved_! Kal abandoned me with you and once Jeremiah was gone _you_ dumped me on Alex and never looked back. And Alex, my _amazing, selfless_ big sister has spent her _whole life_ looking out for me, taking _bullets_ for me!"

"Kara, we are _not_ discussing this." Eliza snarled.

"You're right, Eliza, _we're_ not. I'm going to talk and you're going to _listen_. I don't know why you're so hard on Alex and it really doesn't matter anymore. But because of all the pressure you put on her, she always feels like she's not enough and that's not _fair_. Alex is strong and _brilliant_ and brave and nerdy and better than _anything_ I could have hoped for when my parents put me in that pod. She made me feel safe and loved, like I _belonged_ somewhere."

"I did _not_ dump you on Alexandra!"

"Are you kidding me? After all that I just said, _that_ is the part you fixate on? You know what, enough is enough. The bottom line here is that you need to start treating my sister better or you can stay out of _both_ of our lives. I love you, Eliza, I really do but I will _never_ love anyone more than Alex. And if you can't learn to love her like I do, like Maggie does or J'onn, then there is no place for you in our lives."

"Kara!"

"Take a few days to decide what you're going to do and then call _me_ , not Alex. I don't want you contacting her at all until you can figure out how to be the mother she _needs_ and _deserves_."

"Young lady you have no right to speak to me like this! What has your sister been filling your head with?"

" **ENOUGH**!" Kara roared and it took all the strength she had to keep her heat vision from burning a path from the balcony all the way to Midvale. "I'm hanging up now, Eliza. It's up to you whether this is the last time we speak."

Kara jabbed the end button with enough ferocity to crack her third phone screen that month. She closed her eyes, counting to well over a hundred before she felt her blood pressure start to even out. Adjusting her glasses with another heavy sigh, she spun on her heel and headed back inside.

"Kara, what?" her head snapped up to find her sister leaning heavily against the kitchen counter face frozen in shock. "What did you just do?"

"Something I should have done _years_ ago." The young hero responded, stepping forward to take Alex hand in hers. "I'm so sorry it took me so long, to see it, to stand up to her, _for you."_

"You didn't have to... It's not your _job_ to protect me...especially not from mom..." Alex sounded scared and small, no doubt dreading how Eliza would undoubtedly make this her fault.

" _Alex_! Maybe when we were kids I needed you to fight all my battles but now you _deserve_ someone to fight for you sometimes. You know that the way she treats you isn't okay, right? _No one_ should make you so nervous that you have to drink just to be in the same room with them."

"I know, _I know_... Maggie said the same thing...it's just..."

"She's our mom." Kara added softly in understanding. "But, Alex, just because you love her doesn't mean she can treat you like she does. Eliza has a lot to atone for and until she does, I don't want her anywhere near here. Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah." Alex breathed out, voice coated with relief. "That probably would be best, at least until I have _two_ arms to defend myself."

Kara laughed softly at her sister's attempt at a joke before drawing her into a tender hug.

"I just want you to be happy, Lexie." She whispered, pressing a small kiss to her sister's temple.

"I _am_. Thanks to you and Maggie and everyone else in our crazy, mixed up life! I love you, Kara. To the moon and back."

"I love you too, Alex. To the moon and beyond."

* * *

When Maggie returned an hour later she found the sister's huddled together in Alex's bed, binge-watching _Game of Thrones_ on Kara's laptop, a giant pizza box across their legs. They both looked happy and content, neither woman noticing her entrance.

"Lexie, I'm home!" She announced in her best Desi Arnez voice, dropping her gym bag by the door. "Did I miss anything while I was gone?"

"Eliza called." Kara piped up like it wasn't a big deal. Maggie raised an eyebrow and glanced at Alex.

" _And_?" she prompted gently, because usually a conversation with Eliza resulted in her girlfriend drinking her way through half a bottle of Jack Daniels, yet Alex seemed unusually relaxed.

"And Kara...took care of it..." Alex murmured, eyes landing anywhere but on Maggie.

"Care to elaborate, Little Danvers?"

"I just explained to Eliza how _awesome_ my big sister is and if she couldn't start treating her like it than she should... _stop calling_ until she learns to."

Maggie couldn't seem to pick her jaw up off the floor as she made her way over to the two women. She flopped down heavily on the edge of the bed mouth agape.

"Little Danvers... that is so... _totally badass_! I guess if Alex is the shield, you're the _sword_!" Maggie exclaimed flopping onto her back to grin up at the sisters. "You okay with that?" she asked voice laced with concern as she regarded her girlfriend.

"Yeah." Alex replied quietly. "Yeah, I am. I think taking a little time out from my mom is a good decision. One that's been a _long time_ coming."

"As long as you're happy." Maggie grinned and leaned in to kiss Alex gently; secretly grateful _someone_ had _finally_ put Eliza Danvers in her place. "I'm gonna go grab a shower and when I get back there better be a fuzzy blanket and several slices of pizza waiting for me!"

"I make no promises!" Kara teased as Maggie slipped into the bathroom. She turned toward Alex and gently cupped her face. "You're really okay with this?"

Alex nodded tearfully, leaning into her sister's embrace. "Thank you." She managed, voice thick with unshed tears.

"No, Alex, _thank you_ for taking in a weird little alien girl and making her your _sister_. I could never have asked for a better _friend,_ a better _protector_. I'm just glad I finally got the chance to really protect _you_."

"Just remember that next time mom comes to town!" Alex poked Kara's nose as she managed a small smile. Kara pulled back, swatting her sister's hand playfully.

"Are you kidding? I can _fly_! We are _so_ not sticking around for that!"

And so the _knight,_ the _sword_ and the _shield_ found their perfect place amongst one another.


End file.
